(Power et al. 2005) Spatially explicit tools for understanding and sustaining inland water ecosystems.

Mary Power, Nicholas Brozovic, Collin Bode and David Zilberman make a compelling case that new technologies will provide researchers with an unprecedented capacity to model "socioecological systems". While ecosystem response to human change remains uncertain, dynamic and nonlinear, the new mapping, monitoring and tracing techniques will allow researchers to make better sense of the changes underway. It follows that better ecological models will improve the input data for economists who design institutional arrangements and policies for better ecosystem management.

The article transmits huge excitement. No doubt, new data sets acquired through remote sensing technologies, and new analytical tools such as ArcGIS are opening new frontiers in data analysis. I share the authors´ interest in learning how to capitalize on the spatially explicit tools available. I find that there is a large gap between what the technology will allow us to do, and what users are capable of doing. The technology seems to progress five times faster the rate of user adoption. And as a PhD student, with time to invest in learning these tools, it is nearly incumbent upon me to become an earlier adapter and use the new tools or data sets. While I yet to find the way to integrate these new tools in my research, I look forward to discussing this with my advisers.

A key contribution came at the end of the article, where the authors suggested that researchers should focus on assessing cost-effective policies based on specific goals instead of generating elaborate optimization models that need monetary values on ecosystems or species. This alternative strategy sidesteps the valuation controversy, and avoids the costly, technically difficult and politically sensitive studies such as contingent valuation surveys.

It should be noted that the some leading scholars in the field of ecosystem services are still focused on valuation methods, and the integration of ecosystem values into decision making processes (Daily et al. 2009).

Power, M.E., N. Brozovic, C. Bode, Z. Zilberman. 2005. Spatially explicit tools for understanding and sustaining inland water ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 1(3):47-55.